Bulletin (PDF 18.3 MB) - City of Armadale

Information BulletinCorrespondence & PapersPage Cor-28ALGA NEWS3 December 2010Local Government welcomes Draft National Road Safety StrategyCr Genia McCaffery, President of the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA), haswelcomed the consultation draft of the National Road Safety Strategy 2011-20 which aims toreduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on Australian roads by at least 30%annually. The strategy was launched in Sydney on Wednesday by the ParliamentarySecretary for Infrastructure and Transport, Catherine King."Road crashes cause the death of some 1500 people and 30,000 serious injuries every year onAustralian roads," Cr McCaffery said. "Ultimately no death or serious injury on our roads isacceptable." Councils are collectively responsible for over 650,000 kilometres or 80% of allroads in Australia and local government welcomes the greater emphasis on local roads in thedraft strategy."The internationally recognised 'Safe System' approach adopted in the draft Strategy acceptsthat people using the road network will make mistakes and therefore the whole 'system'needs to be made as safe as possible to ensure it is more forgiving of human errors," CrMcCaffery said."This means improving the safety of roads, adding safety features to cars, making surepeople obey speed limits and the road rules, and having the appropriate sanctions for roadusers who demonstrate irresponsible behaviour."I urge state local government associations and councils to examine the draft strategy fromtheir own perspectives and provide feedback by asking the questions: How will this work inmy community? Is it practical? Are there alternative approaches to achieve the same orbetter result? How will these initiatives be paid for?"National Urban Policy Discussion PaperInfrastructure and Transport Minister Anthony Albanese has released for communityfeedback a discussion paper which will form the basis of Australia's first ever National UrbanPolicy. Public submissions will close on 1 March 2011, with the final National Urban Policy tobe published later in 2011. ALGA welcomes the Federal Government's involvement in ourcities and its undertaking to consult closely with ALGA. ALGA will be making a submissionfocusing on planning, transport, infrastructure and environmental sustainability. Thediscussion paper also raises the issue of local government reform and the need for a debateon whether there should be fewer councils in our major cities. ALGA remains opposed toforced amalgamation of councils but believes that such a debate could be useful inhighlighting community attitudes to the importance of local representation and decisionmaking. Councils and local government associations are encouraged to make their ownsubmissions.National road specifications using recycled crushed glassBusiness leaders, state and local government officials, road engineers and academics visitedthe Alex Fraser Group recycling plant in Laverton, Victoria to see how glass collectedthrough local council kerbside recycling systems is being processed to a nationally consistentstandard for use in construction.